Sex and Christianity
Diarmaid MaCculloch, Helen King and Ruth Padel discuss Christianity, sex and the female body, with Amanda Vickery.
Sex has become one of the most controversial topics in the history of the Church. But the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch shows in his book, Lower Than the Angels, that in the last 2,500 years Christianity has encompassed a much greater diversity of beliefs, including on homosexuality and the role of women. He argues that far from there being a single Christian theology of sex, there have always been a wide range of readings and attitudes.
In one of the foundational stories of the Bible, in Genesis, Eve is created as an afterthought, from one of Adamβs ribs, to be his companion. The classicist Helen King puts the female body at the centre of her book, Immaculate Forms, and examines the ways in which religion, and medicine, have played a gatekeeping role over womenβs bodies.
The prize-winning poet, Ruth Padel, re-imagines the Christian story of the Virgin Mary β a girl in a Primark t-shirt facing a life shaped by divine will. Her new collection, Girl, unravels the myths and icons surrounding girlhood, and also paints a portrait of the Cretan βsnake goddessβ as sheβs unearthed and reshaped at the hands of a male archaeologist.
Presenter: Amanda Vickery is Professor in Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London
Producer: Katy Hickman
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- Mon 11 Nov 2024 09:00ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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